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Sunday, 3 November 2013

The Pakistan
Taliban today put on hold a decision to make Khan Syed, alias Sajna, its new
chief after the killing of warlord Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike when
several militant commanders opposed the move.

The banned
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) named Shehryar Mehsud as the caretaker chief
and its "shura" (council) will meet again in the next few days to
decide on a new leader, Taliban sources said.

The sources said
the shura had initially agreed on Sajna's name during a meeting in South
Waziristan but later withheld the decision due to opposition from commanders
belonging to the Nuristan Shura.

"So it was
decided to meet again possibly tomorrow to decide a new leader," a source
said. Even as Mehsud and five other militants killed with him in yesterday's
drone strike were buried at undisclosed locations in North Waziristan, the
Taliban vowed to carry out "unprecedented" retaliatory attacks.

The government
beefed up security across Pakistan in the wake of Mehsud's killing. "All
precautions have been taken," Interior Ministry spokesperson Omar Hameed
Khan said.

Security was
increased at all sensitive government and military installations, public places
and airports, and more policemen could be seen on the streets.

Taliban spokesman
Azam Tariq confirmed Mehsud's death in the drone strike in the Danday Darpakhel
area and pledged that the group would continue its activities.

Enraged by the
killing of Mehsud, the Taliban vowed to take revenge for the drone attack in
which the militant group alleged the Pakistani government was involved.

"Our revenge
will be unprecedented," Abu Omar, a Taliban commander in North Waziristan,
was quoted as saying by The New York Times. Omar said he considered the
Pakistani government was "fully complicit" in the drone strike. Sajna
(36) remains at the top of the list to succeed Mehsud. He is said to be a close
associate of Mehsud and was given the title of Sajna by slain Taliban chief
Baitullah Mehsud. — PTI

The Pakistan Government has denounced
Mehsud’s killing saying it is a US bid to derail planned peace talks

Pakistan also summoned the US ambassador in
protest

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20131103/nation.htm#5

NSG plans teams to deal with chemical, nuclear
contingencies

Shaurya Karanbir
Gurung

Tribune News
Service

New Delhi,
November 2

In an attempt to
expand its scope of counter-terror operations, the National Security Guard has
planned to raise specialised teams of commandos, who will be trained to fight
in chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE)
contingencies.

The CBRNE are
hazards that can be like the Bhopal gas tragedy or could be in the form of an
improvised nuclear device and a radiological weapon such as the dirty bomb,
which can be used by terrorists. The dirty bomb is a conventional bomb that is
packed with a radiological material. When it explodes, the material is
dispersed as dust over a wide area. The exposure of people to the hazardous
material can cause cancer, genetic damage and infertility.

In the most recent
use of chemical weapons, hundreds of people were killed when the nerve agent,
Sarin, was used in an attack on the Ghouta agricultural belt in Damascus,
Syria, on August 21 this year. The UN confirmed that surface-to-surface rockets
containing Sarin were used in the attack.

After the 26/11
terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the NSG decided to have specialised teams of its
commandos, who are trained to fight in case of a CBRNE attack. The NSG was
created in 1984 and is India's elite counter-terror and anti-hijacking security
force.

"If
terrorists attacked one of India's major cities, they could also attack a
nuclear installation one day. It is after this realisation that the NSG thought
of creating CBRNE teams," said sources.

Last year, the NSG
pitched its idea of having CBRNE teams to its parent organisation, the Ministry
of Home Affairs (MHA). The ministry did not give its approval. About six months
ago, the NSG again pitched its idea, but they are yet to get a go-ahead and the
required funds for establishing the teams.

The NSG has
planned to raise an initial three teams of about 100 commandos, who would be
trained in CBRNE warfare. The strength of the NSG is made up of officers and
men who are on deputation from the Indian Army and the central armed police
forces. And over a period of time, the force plans to train all its commandos
in the CBRNE warfare.

Sources explained
that to fight in such situations, the NSG would have to devise standard
operating procedures or be trained by the Special Forces of a foreign country,
who have the expertise in operating in CBRNE contingencies.

"They would
be able to fight against terrorists in a CBRNE environment in coordination with
the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), who would carry out the task of
rescuing people," said sources.

The NSG has also
been visiting teams of the NDRF, which is a specialised force for responding to
man-made and natural disasters. The NDRF which is controlled by the National
Disaster Management Authority has four teams that have been earmarked to deal
with CBRNE contingencies.

"On such
visits, the NSG examines the kind of equipment the NDRF have and then procures
them," explained sources. The NDRF may train the NSG on the proper use of
the CBRNE equipment such as gas masks, radiation detectors and the
contamination kit.

Since its
inception in 1984, the NSG possesses CBRNE equipments, but only has
'rudimentary knowledge' about them. The Indian Army was one of the first in
India to be trained in CBRNE warfare. From 1987 onwards, the Army's College of
Military Engineering at Pune, started running familiarisation courses in CBRNE
warfare.

"But the NSG
were never imparted any organised training in fighting in a CBRNE environment.
Only a couple of years ago, courses on CBRNE emergency management were started
for the NSG. But these were only lectures on CBRNE. There was no
training," explained sources.

Preparing for the
worst

* After the 26/11
terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the NSG decided to have specialised teams of its
commandos, who are trained to fight in case of a chemical, biological,
radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) attack

* The NSG has
planned to raise an initial three teams of about 100 commandos, who would be
trained in CBRNE warfare

* The CBRNE are
hazards that can be like the Bhopal gas tragedy or could be in the form of an
improvised nuclear device and a radiological weapon such as the dirty bomb

* The NSG was
created in 1984 and is India's elite counter-terror and anti-hijacking security
force.

India-China
military HQs to be connected with hotline: People's Libration Army

China and India
are considering establishing a hotline between the headquarters of the two
militaries under the recently signed Border Defence Cooperation Agreement
(BDCA), the Chinese Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

The two countries
already have hotlines between the two Prime Ministers Offices. Now they are
considering establishing a hotline between the two militaries.

The two armed
forces will make joint efforts to maintain peace and stability in border areas
following the signing of the BDCA during the recent visit of Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh to Beijing, Chinese Defence Spokesman Yang Yujun said.

Relevant military
personnel and departments may hold regular meetings, Yang said, noting that the
two sides agreed to continue to promote mutual trust in the Line of Actual
Control (LAC).

The agreement
summarised good practices and experiences on the management of differences in
China-India border areas, Yang said, adding that the border areas have
generally maintained peace and stability in recent years.

Yang stressed that
the Chinese army is willing to work with India to constantly promote mutual
trust, enhance cooperation and maintain peace and stability of the border areas
so as to benefit relations between the two countries.

New Delhi, Nov. 1:
An American army officer’s account of her time training in Agra has given a
glimpse into the class-system in the Indian Army and has stoked once again the
debate of assigning sahayaks — or batmen — who are often required to do
personal work of officers.

First Lieutenant
Laura Condyles’ account, narrated to the US army’s official publicity wing,
suggests she had a grand time during her 52-day course at the Para Training
School in Agra in August-September.

But the insight it
shares — that the Indian Army differentiates sharply between officers and
soldiers and that it operates with poor infrastructure — have made senior
officials here take note.

There are
exceptions to the sahayak rule — not all officers ask the batmen to do personal
work — but that does not shine through in Condyles’ narration.

The Indian Army’s
structure “is pretty different,” the US army official wire release quotes the
25-year-old parachute rigger-qualified officer as saying.

“When you are an officer on
post, they cook your meal for you, or they deliver it to your room. They clean
your bathroom for you every day. They mop your floors in your room every day.
They even make your bed for you every day, and they do your laundry every
single day,” says Condyles.

The observations make Indian
Army officers touchy. Former army chief General V.K. Singh had proposed to do
away with the sahayak system and replace them with civilians. He had argued it
was not proper for professional soldiers to be forced to do such work.

A parliamentary standing committee
has also recommended the abolition of the system dating back to the British
Indian Army. The British have done away with it.

But Condyles says that life
was difficult in Agra, even with the conveniences. “I had electricity about 40
to 50 per cent of the time,” she says in the account.

The parachute
rigger-qualification course trains soldiers in lashing and packaging equipment,
including food and hardware, for airdrops. Many of the Indian Army’s forward
posts — such as those in Siachen — are “air-maintained”.

Laura Condyles said she was
the first foreign officer to qualify with an ‘I” grade — meaning she showed
skills good enough for her to be an instructor. “I got it! I’m the first
foreign officer that’s ever gotten the “i” grade before, so that was pretty
neat!”

“I loved it! I had a great
time,” said Condyles. “The cool thing was I’m the first American that went to
the course. They had other foreign officers that went to this course before
too, one from Sri Lanka, one from Ethiopia, from Nepal, and Pakistan.”

The American officer is wrong
when she says a Pakistani was also part of the course. The Indian Army has no
personnel exchange programme with Pakistan.

“They drop live animals,” she
was quoted. “They put chickens and goats on a platform and drop them in for
food”.

Condyles said cows would often
enter the air force station in Agra and even the hangars in which the equipment
was parachute-rigged. Among the rations dropped during the course were bagged
items, tent supplies, bottles, hay, medical provisions, fish, meat on hoof,
meat dressed, frozen meat, chicken dressed, chicken alive, fruits and
vegetables, and fuel, oil and lubricants.

“At their motor pools they
have temples. So, before you get into a military vehicle and drive away, you
have to pray to the gods.” Condyles said.

Army Chief General
Bikram Singh likes to undo what General V K Singh did while in office, a key-lesson
learnt from his immediate senior.

Within a week of
taking over as the chief on May 31 last year, Gen Bikram Singh, who had an
uneasy relations with Gen V K Singh, had reversed the latter’s decision to
place Lt Gen Dalbir Suhag, who was the then 3 Corps Commander, under a
Disciplinary and Vigilance ban for a botched up intelligence operation under
his command, thereby enabling his elevation as the Kolkata-based Eastern Army
Commander.

In May this year,
the Army Chief decided to disband the Technical Support Division (TSD), an
intelligence unit set up by Gen V K Singh, over allegations of misuse of their
powers and operational mandate. This week, Gen Bikram Singh reversed another
decision of Gen V K Singh.

The present Army
chief has issued instructions to all officers and soldiers posted in peace
stations to revert to wearing battle-pattern camouflage to work on all Fridays
‘to express solidarity’ with troops in inhospitable terrains in operational
areas such as Jammu and Kashmir, North East, desert and high altitude areas.

The new
instruction came into effort from November 1 and after a couple of years,
officers and men were seen in their battle fatigues at work in the Army
headquarters on Friday.

“This is to express solidarity
with the soldiers fighting battles and guarding the nation under tough
circumstances in operational areas. So, the 11.3-lakh Army will follow this
uniform pattern on all Fridays,” an officer said.

Though this decision, for the
same reasons, had been taken by Gen J J Singh when he had taken over as chief
in 2005, the practice of wearing the battle fatigues was given up on
instructions from Gen V K Singh, who had taken over in 2010 from Gen Deepak
Kapoor. Gen V K Singh had not only changed the ‘fatigues on Fridays’ habit in the
Army, but had also pushed for reverting to the earlier system of promotions of
Lieutenant Generals in the Army when all got equal opportunity to both
‘command’ and do ‘staff’ postings. The system of bifurcating the Lieutenant
Generals into command and staff streams was introduced by Gen Kapoor.